Joint construction



April s, A1930.

J. VAALER 1,753,487

JOINT CONSTRUCTION Filed Oct. 13, 1926 Patented Apr. 8, 1930 UNITED STATES PATENT or-FlcE s .TENS VAALL'R, en CHICAGO, ILLINOIS; Ass`1ernon,To THE CLEMETSEN ,coMPANug 'on ing tenon ,shrinks away `from the the points ivhere'eifectivepressure had* ex! CHICAGO, ILLINOIS, n ooRPofnATIoN oF ILLINOIS 'I'OIN'L` CONSTRUCTION Applicationled October 13, 1926. SerialN'o. 141,248.

This invention relates to joint constructions Which may be .utilized in furniture manufacture or in other fields Where an interlocking joint of this type may be useful.`

.Ordinary mortise and tenon joints of the type having perfectly fitted mortises and tenons, With parallel surfaces in snug contact, are tooexpensive and not suited to large scale production methods. Furthermore, .such a vjoint when made of Wood isnot capable of preventing slight relative lmovementoi the cooperating members, due tothe compressibility of the Wood libres. ,vUnder theinfluence of time and varying lnimidityA such va joint graduallyV loosensand its eectiveness is seriously-diminished. j

If the mortise and-.tenori .are tapered to provide aV wedging t the continued pressure exerted perpendicularly to thesurfaces soon causes the mortised member `to split, or the joint is rendered lessefective as the drymortise at isted. Of course, accurately Atapered joints in the Wood Working art are too expensive for practical use.

Myinvention .provides ai joint in which the square-cornered edges of thel tenon engage the round-corners lof the mortise firmly at all points from the open end-to ,the bottom ofV the Vmortise, regardless of the slight variations of dimensions that may occur in quantity production. The strains thus imposed on the mortised member are exerted largely diagonally across thegrain of the wood, thus eliminating'entirely the danger of splitting and insuring a Vresilient grip that will be maintained` as Athe-Wood is aifected by time and humidity.

VI furthermore utilize this principle in yan interlocking kjoint construction which is peculiarly Vailapted to derive thegmaximum benet from the principle, in-that with some aid from glue and ,-Without ,the aid of pins, nailsor screws initial relative vmovementof the cooperating tically impossible. Y

-One of the objects of this invention is to provide a joint construction lcomprising Vinmembersiisrendered prec- Y nered mortises and square-cornered tenons lto el'l'ect aWedgingengagement Whe'n'the tenons are driven into the mortises. ,v Another objectof this invention is kto pro.-

vide ay joint yconstruction having roundcor nered mortlses4 and square-oorneredigtenons sodimensioned that when the tenon islforcibly driven into the'mortise each Ksquare-cornered edge ofthe ltenon exerts pressure in a'vfvan` shaped arrangement of the `lines or ,force radiating out fromthe edge. Y

Another object is to providea nexvvmortise and tenon 'joint construction in Which'the pressure betvveenfthe tvvocooperating meiners is exerted in partyoblique'lyuto the grain of the Wood kandis exertedwmore Vconstantly and Veiiectively than is the case in lordinary joint Constructions. Another objectoif this nventpnisto PFO- vide .a joint construction' haring .more ,Srfaces 0n which t0 apply glu@ tllallliarelltllerf@ 'been provided ,in Yf iirllitilre joints there being also less surface areavtransversely 'intersetnsthe grain 0f surface 'area parallelingthegrain'.l Y My invention further residesinthelcombinat-ion, construction and .arrangement rQt parts shown in the accompanyingdravving, and vvvhile I haveshown therein a preferred embodiment I Wish "it: i same xis susceptible of modification and change Without departing from thespirit of my invention. Y Further objects, advantages and capabilities .will later more fully' appearandarefinherently possessed by my invention.

`Referring novvfto the drawing, yin Whichis 'illustrated one embodimentofmy invention? Fig l is fa disassembledview .in perspective;

shown in Fig. l; f

Fig. 5 :is a-perspective showinggtheend of one ofthehorizontal members.

.Referringlnovv in V.greater .detail to the drawing# isaimembrwhich'may bea vertiunderstoodv that the v Fig. 2 Vis an assembled Yvievv.of-, theppafts the' Weed" @miniere A projection 9 on the member 7 extends past the corner 10along the face of the post and carries a reduced portion or projection 11 which is adapted to fit into the recess 12 o n the element5.

As is shown in the assembled view in Fig. 2,

the projection 11 seatedin the recess 12 causes vthe element 5 and the member 7 to afford each other vertical support independently of the post l and to cooperate with the mortises and tenons toeect an interlocking and extremely rigid joint.

' The rigidity of'this joint construction is further promoted by the design of the mortises and tenons. It can befreadily understood that when a square-corneredY tenon of suitable dimensions is driven into one of these round-'cornered mortises thel ends of the mortise are distorted to more nearly conform with the outline of the tenon and likewise the tenon becomes distorted to conform to the outline of the mortise. In this manner'the tenon becomes snugly wedgedinto the mortise and does not need to rely' so much upon the glue for .preservation of a firm joint.Y n

It will be observed that my invention provides a reater number of surfacesthan has hitherto een provided in furniture joints on which glue may be applied. Thereis also a minimum of surface area which transversely intersects the grain ofthe wood, resulting thereby in a minimum number of glued surfaces which are less suitedto be held together wrhy glue.

Another advantage arising in this type of joint construction is that the interlocking effect is produced without the use of nails, screws, or a pin, the forces which hold the parts togetheracting directly upon the surfaces of the principal members themselves. The large amount of friction between the square-cornered tenons and the round-cornered mortises tends to hold the members rigid and immovable,which friction is therefore an aid to the glue. It is of course, an advantage to prevent any initial movement of the glued members without entirely relying upon the glue to prevent that initial movement. This manner of wedging the members therefore takes some of the strain off the glue, and on the other hand the glue tends to the round-cornered mor,-A

relieve some of the strain in the corners of the mortises.

As seen inFig. 2, the inner vertical face of the projection 9 (of member 7) fits tightly in engagement with the adjacent face of the post 1. These faces being with thegrain aEord excellent surfaces for the application of glue, which in conjunction with the arrangementof themortises and tenons kgives exceedingly product. o -Havingshown and described my invention, I claim Y 1. A jointconst'ruc'tion comprising a post having mortises in two adjacent faces, an element having a tenon adapted to 'fit into one of said mortises, said element having a recess, and a member having la tenon adapted to fit into the other of said mortises, saidl member having a projection adapted to seat in said recess, said projection having a facev in en'- gagement with the adjacent face of the post. 2.' A joint constructioncomprising a post having mortises in two adjacent faces, an elegreat Arigidity to the nished l ment having a tenon adapted to fit into one of said mortises, said element having a'recess, a member having a tenon adapted to fit into theother of said mortises, and a projection on said member extending along and in engagement withfa face of said post toward said recess and having a reduced lportion adapted to fit into said recess.

3. A/ joint construction comprising a post Y having mortises two adjacent faces, `an element having a tenon adapted to lit into one ioo of said mortises, said'element having a-rec'ess,

and a member having a tenon adapted tofit into the' other of said mortises, said member havi'ng'aI projection adapted to seat in said recess, one of said mortises having arounded corner, and the corresponding tenon having a square corner for reffecting a wedging fit when the tenon 'driven into the mortise. A i

LA joint construction comprising a post having a plurality of recesses, a recessed element having aprojection tted into one of the recesses of said post, and a member having a projection fitted into the recess of said element and having another projection fitted into a recess of said postf 5. A joint construction comprising a vertical post interlocked with two horizontal members whiehxare disposed at an angle'to each other, the post having a round-cornered mortise in each of twofaces, oneof said members having a recess and havingy a squarecorneredtenon fitted into one of said mortises, and the otherof said members having a square-cornered tenon yfitted into the other` into one of said mortises, a horizontal mem' ber at an angle to said element having a squarescornered tenon fitted into the other of said mortises and means for directly connecting said element and said member whereby each affords vertical support to the other.

7. A wooden joint construction comprising a wooden member having narrow elongated mortises in two adjacent faces, the length of each mortise extending parallel to the grain of the member, a second wooden member having a tenon adapted to be fitted into one of said mortises and having a recess, the depth of said tenon and the length of said recess extending parallel to the grain, a third wooden member having a tenon adapted to be fitted into the other said mortise and having a projection extending along and in light t engagement with the face of the firstmember toward the first said mortise, and a reduced portion on said projection adapted to extend into the recess on the said second member, the projections and tenon onl the third member extending parallel to the grain of the wood.

8. In a wooden joint construction, three interlocking members, each extending at right angles to the other two, the first member having recesses retaining projections from the other two members, and one of the said two members having a recess retaining a projection from the other of the said two members, the major portion of the contacting surfaces comprising cooperating surfaces the grain on each of which extends perpendicular to the grain in the other and in a parallel plane.

9. A joint construction comprising a vertical post having a mortise in each of two adjacent faces, the mortises extending with the grain of the post and being considerably greater in length than in width, and provided with rounded corners, a horizontal member having a rectangular cornered tenon adapted to tit into one of said mortises, a second horizontal member at an angle to said first member having a rectangular cornered tenon adapted to tightly fit in the other of said mortises, and means for directly connecting saidtwo members together whereby each affords vertical support to the other.

In witness whereof, I hereunto subscribe naine to this specification.

J ENS VAALER.

CERTIFICATE OF CORRECTION.

Patent No. 1,753,487. GrantedApril 8, 1930, tol

JENS VAALER.

It is hereby certified that error appears in the printed specification of the above numbered patent requiring correction as follows: Page 3, line 18, claim 7, for the word "light" read "-tight"; and that the said Letters Patent should be read with this correction therein that the same may conform to the record of the case in the Patent Office.

Signed and sealed this 24th day of June, A. D. 1930.

M. J. Moore, (Seal) Acting Commissioner of Patients. 

